A healthy balanced diet is essential for the health and happiness of your dog, but sometimes problems with the digestive system can mean that no matter how good the food is that you are giving your dog, they are still unable to get the nutrition they need from their diet. Many experts believe that the addition of probiotics in the diet can help improve digestion, and can increase the benefits of a healthy, balanced diet.

What are Probiotics?
The intestinal tract utilises a number of bacteria to help with the process of breaking down food, but sometimes these bacteria can get out of balance, and this can cause problems such as flatulence, stomachache, indigestion and diarrhea. Probiotics are types of ‘good’ bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, which can be introduced to the system through tablet or liquid form to help readdress the balance of bacteria in the gut and promote good intestinal health and digestion.

What are Prebiotics?
Prebiotics are basically non-digestible food sources such as natural fibres, which help to push food through the digestive tract to prevent it from getting stagnant and encouraging bad bacteria to multiply, and prebiotics commonly added to dog foods include beet and chicory root pulp. Prebiotics also support the growth of many of the good types of bacteria, and cannot be easily utilised by the bad bacteria, so they can help to balance the gut and prevent bad bacteria from taking over.

Prebiotics and probiotics are sometimes added directly into dog food in order to promote overall health through feeding, but you can also get them in tablet and liquid form from your vet or pet shops, and these can be added to food that does not already contain the ingredients.

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